Photo courtesy of the International Musical Eisteddfod.
Some of Cal State Long Beach’s top chorale singers went, saw and conquered at a recent international music festival in Great Britain, university officials announced.
The university’s Bob Cole Conservatory Chamber Choir—the premier choral ensemble at CSULB—won the Choir of the World competition during the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod in Wales over the weekend, according to a release.
CSULB President Jane Close Conoley congratulated the group in a tweet sent out Sunday.
@BCCMmusic Chamber Choir wins 2016 Choir of the World & Pavarotti Trophy. This is a BIG deal. Congrats & #GoBeach
This was the group’s first-ever trip to the event. It will also receive the prestigious Pavarotti Trophy, university officials stated.
The festival culminates with the “Choir of the World” competition, which determines the best overall choir of the event, the release stated. In 2005, Luciano Pavarotti added his name to the competition in recognition of his appreciation of the festival and its influence on his career, the university release added.
The chamber beat out choir groups from Estonia, the Czech Republic, the Phillipines, England, Finland and fellow Californian choirs, organizers stated in a release.
“They sang from the heart and with passion while being technically superb,” said the festival’s music director Eilir Owen Griffiths. “Their performance was very powerful and they were worthy winners.”
Griffith stated the standard was extremely high but CSULB’s choir ultimately stood out in a tough competition for the global choral crown.
“I have dreamt of this moment all my life. I have spent my life working in choral music and to win the Choir of the World title is just superb,” stated the choir’s director Jonathan Talberg. “For me it’s like winning Super Bowl, only perhaps even more thrilling.”
The chamber choir tours yearly and has performed throughout Europe, Australia, New Zealand and China. It recently performed with the Los Angeles Master Chorale, the Pacific Symphony, the Pasadena Pops Orchestra, the Long Beach Symphony and sang backup for the Rolling Stones at Staples Center and Petco Park, according to the release.